Blank Mask
by williamsangel88
Summary: Raised as a tool by both Dumbledore and Danzou, Harry never really thought of being anything else. That was until Sai reached out a helping hand. Dark fic but with a good ending, Bad! Manipulative! Dumbledore, character deaths. Shippuuden world. ROOT!Harry DISCONTINUED/HIATUS/UPFORADOPTION you pick
1. Chapter 1

**Blank Mask**

**Summary:** Raised as a tool by both Dumbledore and Danzou, Harry never really thought of being anything else. That was until Sai reached out a helping hand. Dark fic but with a good ending, Bad! Manipulative! Dumbledore, character deaths. Shippuuden world. ROOT!Harry

**Disclaimer:** I might as well tell you all that, yes I own them all MWHAHAHAHA. Sorry, just kidding. Otherwise I would have made the Harry Potter Anime already.

**Warnings:** This is a fic with a lot of dark themes. It will get better at some point. Things like death, blood, gore, rape and abusive language will be main themes in the first few chapters. I'm sorry if this upsets people. Expect short chapters.

Take nothing for granted…

**Prologue  
Changing masters**

The young man was standing silently in the office, his green eyes fixed on his Master while his wounds continued to drip blood on the carpet. Wild, black hair stuck together as drying blood of the one he had just killed clotted together. Pale scarred skin was hardly visible underneath all the dirt and seemed to be healing quite nicely as the Potions Master continued to administer potions and salves to his patient.

"It is done then?" his Master asked, those blue eyes hard as steel and his body regally stiff.

"Yes Ma- Professor," he caught himself just in time. His Master would never have forgiven him if he had addressed him with anything else as Professor while in the company of others. "The mission is complete."

His Master nodded in approval and a strange kind of pleasure washed through him for a moment before it dulled out. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to have feelings. Feelings got in the way of his mission and would hurt the people around him. He was a tool; to be used by his Master as he wished and only useful as long as the mission existed. Now that the mission was completed he was no longer of use to his Master… unless he was given another mission.

"You have done well _my_ boy," his Master said with a smile to fool the Potions Master who was still in the room. His Master seemed displeased about something. Was it because the missions had finished or was it something else? Should he kneel, maybe even crouch down to let his Master satisfy himself again? Before he could act on rash instincts which may or may not satisfy his Master, the older man turned towards the Potions Master. "That will do Severus. Go now and rest. I'm sure your students will have a lot of questions."

The Potions Master hesitated and seemed to be looking at the remaining injuries, but sighed in a resigned way. "Very well. Good evening Headmaster." And the man left with one last glance at the injured teen. The moment the door closed, he kneeled before his Master with his head bowed in submission.

"You have done well over the years my boy," his Master said and by the rustling of clothing he could tell that his Master had decided to move around his desk to stand in front of him. "Though the death toll was great on both sides, I'm sure they can all rest peacefully now. Tell me, how did it feel killing your only remaining family?"

The youth stiffened for a moment before lowering his head a bit more. "Empty."

_The walls were splashed with blood much like they had been when he had still lived here fulltime. Though this time the blood was from the people he had lived with. The walrus-like man he had been forced to call Uncle lay face down in his own pool of blood. It was obvious what had killed the man. Thousands of deep and shallow cuts littered the man's fat body and traces of a much darker magic lingered around it. The smell of copper had filled the air and it seemed to cling to the dust which had started to settle. The man had been dead for a while then._

_The one thing he noticed most was that the man had been in the process of doing something unspeakable before he had been killed. Traces of seamen had stained the sheets and urine had mixed in with the blood on the floor. Out of the three inhabitants of this house, the walrus had been the one to let the possible killer inside of the house._

_The wife was in the kitchen and, out of the three, no trace could be found of what had killed her, but the youth knew. Traces of dark magic which lingered on her body… there was no mistaking it. The killing curse was the thing which had robbed her of her life. Lingering for a moment so he could close her startled eyes which stared unseeing out into the world, the youth moved to the living room._

_Crisps crunched under his feet and stuck to the bottom of his shoes because they had mingled with the sugary drink which had spilled across the floor. Glass from the broken coffee table glittered on the floor and most likely in the large belly of the child which was lying across it. Surely it was only because the heavy child had fallen on top of it that the coffee table had been broken. There was no other evidence which proved him wrong. No wooden splinters littering the floor between the soft stuffing of the sofa that had exploded. No, the piece of wooden leg which had bored its way through the heavy child's neck was the reason for his demise. The blown up sofa had only been the instigator._

_Like a ghost the black haired youth moved from room to room, removing all evidence of him ever residing in this house. For a moment he stared at the television and watched the rabbit being chased around by a stubby man with a gun. The picture fascinated him a little. Was the rabbit running away because he was scared? But why was he taunting the man who he was running from? Or was the man holding the gun scared of the rabbit and was this the reason why he wanted to shoot the rabbit?_

_Blank green eyes turned away from the moving picture and continued to remove his presence from the house._

"Empty hmm?" his Master asked. "I guess that is only to be expected from a fully trained assassin. But what about those two who used to follow you around? What were their names again? Ah yes, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. You killed them too, correct?"

It was true. Everyone who had been killed because of him… the list was long.

_He knew that they were just the first of many. The redhead had been first to die, throwing himself in front of the girl when a cutting hex was aimed at her blind side. It had taken a long time for him to die and all the while he had begged for the ones attacking them to spare the others. The Death Eaters had laughed at his wish and soon the redhead passed on._

_Maybe it was better this way. Ronald Weasley wouldn't have lasted much longer against the torture and fighting. He wasn't trained to be a fighter after all._

_The girl lasted longer than he had expected. She proved to be strong and quite knowledgeable. Like the boy she wasn't trained to be a fighter either and in the end died a worthy death. She had looked and spoken to him for a long time before breathing her last breath. "Emotions aren't a weakness," she kept repeating. "Emotions make us human. You cannot continue to ignore them Harry."_

_He turned away from her and had been trying to come up with a plan to deal with the Death Eaters as efficiently as possible but she continued to speak to him. "You were not responsible for the deaths of your family. You're only human, Harry."_

_She was wrong. He had never been human, just a tool to be used by his Master and to be disposed of should he fail. Or when his mission would be over._

"How many have you killed?" his Master asked, bringing the youth back to the present.

Black hair swayed slightly when the head was tilted to the side in thought. "Two-hundred and sixty two," he replied softly. A wrinkled hand appeared in his line of vision and, without pulling away,the youth let his Master raise his head. Green eyes stared into blue ones and for a moment he wondered if his Master would kill him right away. But the youth knew that his Master didn't kill. He had others to do the killing for him.

The hand started to travel slightly, thin fingers pressing against his lips, stroking his ears and hair before moving towards his neck. The youth tilted his head to suite his Master's wishes and he closed his eyes when the much older man lowered his face. A knock, almost perfectly timed, interrupted his Master's plans and the older man tsked in annoyance. "It seems that my time with you is up already my boy," he said, straightening and calling a sharp "Enter".

The door swung open and almost soundless footsteps signalled the entry of a man, old but fit. This man was strong in body and mind. The youth could tell from just his footfalls. He had let his head drop the moment his Master's hand left his cheek but he could see the new man's feet out of the corner of his eye. The man radiated a strange and dangerous aura. Much stronger than his Master was or even Tom Riddle's had been.

"It is good to see you again Dumbledore," the man said. His voice was as powerful as his stride and had a strange accent to it, twisted and full of deceit. Prying eyes seemed to scrutinize him for a while. "I hope I haven't interrupted anything."

His Master moved back to sit behind his desk, the place he felt safest and most powerful as the youth well knew. It was here, in this office and at that desk, his Master had first taken him after all. "Not at all," his Master replied, sounding a little annoyed. "In fact you are right on time, Danzou."

"I take it this is the boy you spoke off," the man now identified as Danzou said. He seemed disappointed somehow. "He is a lot older than I expected."

"He has been with us for sixteen years after all," his Master replied. "He will turn seventeen in a few months. It will be then that he will have reached his full magical potential."

"Yes," Danzou sneered and those prying eyes were back on him again. "Your special chakra called _magic_. Such an extraordinary blood-line limit. It would be interesting to see how well it works with our chakra. But didn't you say he would be old enough to train? Seventeen is not the age we agreed on."

"It's not a problem," his Master said, shifting a little in his seat. Whatever had happened, it was causing his Master distress. A strange energy swirled around the room before latching back onto the person it had come from. There was a moment where no one spoke or moved, causing doubt to stir inside of him. Why wasn't his Master, or that other man, saying anything? What had caused them to fall silent?

Suddenly his Master sagged inside of his seat and the youth had to fight with himself not to look up. Why was his breathing so heavy now? What had happened that had caused his Master such great distress? "I see," Danzou said, seemingly unfazed by the silence which had transpired. "I take it you were going to do this sometime soon?"

"Y-yes," his Master replied, a slight tremor in his voice. "The b-boy needs to be in full h-health for the potion to work." His voice returned to normal with each new breath. "This will probably be tonight."

"I see," Danzou muttered, seemingly thoughtful. "And where is this potion now?"

"Will you take him already?" his Master asked, trying to hide his surprise.

The other man tapped his cane against the stone floor harshly. "Did you think I would leave the boy in your care for you to whisper sweet nothings into his ear for much longer? From this day forth this boy is mine as per our agreement. Why would I leave him here?"

His heart rate sped up. Was this surprise or excitement? The youth released a breath without a sound. His fingers tingled and he felt slightly dizzy. Without drawing attention to himself, the youth flexed his hands and wiggled his toes. It wouldn't do to look bad in front of his new Master. Changing hands was something he had done often, especially when he had been younger. Since coming to this school, he had a constant Master who had given him a long term mission. So it would be logical to either finally be killed because he no longer had a purpose or for him to change hands again. It seemed that he would live a little while longer.

In the meantime Dumbledore and his new Master had discussed their agreement. Or rather, his new Master had laid down the law and Dumbledore had only the option of obeying. He had been clear of mind when he had made the contract after all. And with their 'negotiations' coming to an end, his new Master turned towards the youth who was still kneeling on the office floor.

"Do I need to explain to you what will happen next, boy?" his new Master asked. The youth didn't respond, not that he was given the time to do so, and the older man placed the bottom tip of his cane on the youth's shoulder. The metal tip dug into the already wounded shoulder, but the youth remained unfazed. He was used to pain after all. It was his only reminder that he was still alive. "It seems you understand quite well, but I will explain it to you anyway. Your old Master has given you to me as per our agreement made when your mission here was drawing to a close. This agreement stated that I would get you, the ultimate weapon of this world, for information about my own. This agreement also stated that you would reach your magical maturity by this time but still be old enough to be trained in the ways of my world. This would mean that you would have to be four years of age when you would enter my care."

For a split second their eyes met, green eyes filled with confusion as a lone black eye stared back at him. The other was bandaged like most of his body giving the impression that the man was heavily injured, but every fibre of his being screamed at him that this man was more dangerous than even Voldemort on a bad day.

The cane dug a little deeper into his shoulder and the youth lowered his head immediately. It was all the time he had been allowed. "I see that you understand my problem when I first walked into this office. Your old Master seems to have a potion which will solve this problem. Get it for me."

The order was direct and the youth stood to obey the order, ignoring how the cane seemed to have made the wound worse. The Headmaster flinched back and was already going for his wand, but the raven head was faster and stronger. While he had magic, the youth had learned early on in life that his speed and strength could often be used to persuade others. So without remorse he snapped the older man's wrist and enclosed his hand around his old Master's throat, squeezing lightly. He didn't need to ask about the potion or where it was kept. The man was already sniffling and gesturing towards the bookshelves to his right where a few boxes were kept. "Top right," he gurgled.

Green eyes narrowed slightly before elbowing the man in the face to stun him. It wouldn't do for the Headmaster to shoot him while his back was turned. The youth dashed to the bookshelves and rummaged through the box which seemed to hold several different potions, and even a few candy wrappers, before digging out the potion vial which was labelled 'de-aging potion'. It couldn't have taken more than a few seconds which seemed to have impressed his new Master.

"Very good," the older man muttered while examining the vial with a curious expression. "You will learn how to make less of a mess while in my care. And how to do a proper clean-up. For now, let us leave. We have a long journey ahead of us and I want you in the program before the week is up."

"Wait," Dumbledore said, standing hastily before dropping back down and cradling his broken wrist. "What about our agreement?"

His new Master fixed an icy stare at the injured form of the Headmaster. "Did you really think I would give you anything concerning our world? I am a Shinobi, _wizard_. This means that I live surrounded by secrets and shadows. You think that your society is well hidden, but why do you think no-one has found out about us yet? Boy," his new Master snapped and the youth jumped to attention. "I see no reason for the existence of this man."

"Yes Master," the youth replied and with swift precision the Headmaster ceased to exist.

**A/N: What do you think about the prologue? I feel a little bad for updating this new story when I haven't even finished any of the other stories I'm writing. I haven't been able to write since I got back from Japan though (which is like a month or so ago now) and I got loads of new stories lying around. So I apologise to all you lot waiting for an update on any of my other stories. I'm not going to promise that I will update any of them soon, but I am working on them.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1  
Number 7; Lightning**

Pain. It was all he knew for a long time. The name Harry Potter had been shed the moment he received the potion and became one of Danzou-sama apprentices. Of course that was what the new children wanted to believe. He knew different though. He had been a weapon before, fully grown before having to relive everything once more. Growing up in the care of Danzou-sama was different though.

His four-year-old body clearly disappointed his new Master. It was frail and weak. His magic might have reached majority together with his mind, but his body was what it had been when he was still guest in the Dursley household. His bones broke easily and his muscles weren't developed fully. The potion caused a virus to spread through his weak body, meaning he had to stay in bed for a week before Danzou-sama was finally able to test everything. At least his reflexes were still there or the now four-year-old would not have made it past the first month.

Danzou-sama had him hooked onto several types of drugs, testing each addictive plant mercilessly to build up his resistance. And while his disillusioned mind tried to decide which way was up, the youth was subjected to endless training sessions to build up his stamina. Just about every bone in his body had been broken and healed, only to be broken once more before his fifth birthday. To test his speed, various traps all designed to kill had been set around for the child to move through.

At least his new Master hadn't taken his virginity yet.

The sound of hardened skin against softer skin had echoed through the chamber the first time the raven head had offered the service. Danzou-sama had looked troubled was his excuse. The older man's refusal stung a little but it was the first kindness his Master had shown him since coming to the Foundation.

"You are still wet behind the ears," his Master had answered when he had looked at the older man questioningly. "We Shinobi do not seek to have sex with mere children. I do not care what that wizard told you before. At ROOT there is no such thing. There is Honour even in the Shadows. Now get out of my sight."

The four-year-old had moved swiftly into the shadows and out of the room before he could disappoint his Master any further. Would the man have accepted him if he had been sixteen years old still? For the first time the boy felt conflicted, wishing to have been older still yet knowing full well that he shouldn't doubt his Master's wishes.

"_But what do you want, Harry?"_

Too distracted, the raven head nearly bumped into the two younger 'students' who had been sharing a book together. One of them seemed to recognise him almost instantly while the other merely apologised with a bow. "You're number seven aren't you?" the one who had recognised him asked.

Green eyes quickly sized the two up. They both had numbers on the side of their necks which meant that they probably wouldn't last much longer. The ones who showed more promise were either marked somewhere less visible or not at all. Much like the raven head who still carried the reminder of his past in the form of a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on his forehead. It was because of that mark Danzou-sama had asked him to wear a bandana to hide it.

The two younger ROOT members started to shuffle nervously under the scrutinizing gaze of those cold, green eyes. They quickly made some excuse and rushed away from the older boy. This was what he had always been and no-one, not even Hermione Granger, had been able to change him. Because even if each new Master desired something else from him, he just continued shedding the next name and created a new one.

A smirk graced his otherwise emotionless face for a split second, relishing the feeling of achievement as he watched the two younger ROOT members disappear around the corner. The emotion left his body when he dropped his smirk, continuing on his way to his room.

That encounter started several rumours which would be told from senpai to kohai over the following years. It was one of his more merciful moments after all. It was also why he was never branded. Everyone in the Foundation knew where his loyalties lay, but more importantly, Danzou-sama knew that he would never betray the Master he had no matter what.

Because without his Master, he would not exist…

…

His first mission seemed laughably easy, but turned out to be a test of his patience. At seven-years-old he was to infiltrate the Academy and pass himself off as a student. He would graduate as a mediocre student who hadn't been noticed the entire year and didn't distinguish himself enough. Only one student questioned his presence when the final tests started.

It was the first time he used his magic outside of the Foundation. While a memory seal would leave a mark on his victim, the Memory Charm would only leave the intended slightly confused. The student failed his test, seemingly too confused to perform the requested standard Academy three. It had been odd to be around students again and flashbacks of his previous life threatened to overwhelm his younger body. He had been unable to stop the trembling hands for several days. Not until Danzou-sama helped him out. His Master was kind like that, casting a genjutsu with his Sharingan to reign in his wavering thoughts and set him back on the right path.

What Danzou-sama hadn't been able to stop was his meeting with the three-year-old Jinchuuriki. The Legacy of the Yondaime Hokage had run into the ROOT operative near the top of the Hokage monument. It was also the first time ANBU caught a glimpse of the former wizard. They didn't intervene when the blonde rambled to the person who didn't look at him with hate filled eyes. When he tried to leave Naruto tried to follow him, but he just shot the blonde down and continued his way back to the Foundation. One of the ANBU had tried to follow him, but the former wizard took the seasoned Shinobi by surprise and used another piece of magic to confound the older man's senses.

Danzou-sama regarded the raven head who had given his report not seconds before. "It seems you did quite well during this mission," he praised softly. The metal tip of his cane dug into his shoulder, much like it had done on their first meeting. "Your run-in with the fox brat may prove useful in the end. Tell me how you intend to spend the following year? You are about to become eight years of age, are you not?"

"Yes Danzou-sama," the raven head answered softly. "My life is for my Master and so my Master will decide where I will go. Please Master; tell me what you wish me to do."

Danzou-sama nodded approvingly and the raven head lowered his head again in submission. The metal tip dug a little deeper into his shoulder. Anyone else would have flinched away from the pain by now, but the child was indifferent to the pain. In fact he welcomed the distraction. It made him feel oddly alive. This idea was quickly squashed when the pressure on his shoulder was lifted. He didn't need to feel alive to serve his Master, he just needed to remain alive long enough to complete his mission.

"I want you to start working on your elemental control through your chakra," his Master said in his impassive tone. "As a side mission, I want you to keep an eye on the fox brat. You will report to me about his movements and his process. Kill him instantly if he shows any sign of the Kyuubi taking over. He must be killed if he proves a threat to Konoha. That fool Hiruzen may think that protecting the brat by letting him live in the village is a good thing, but I know differently."

The raven head remained silent as his Master huffed in disapproval. Should he reassure his Master? But he had yet to understand what his new Master needed at certain times. He had tried to answer unasked questions, much like his first ever Master asked him to do. He had offered to be his Master's 'punching bag' so the man could release his pent up anger, just like his second Master desired of him. While the Dursley family all had been violent towards him in their own ways, he had never seen them as his Masters. They had been his caretakers and nothing more.

His third Master had been the first Master who taught him new tricks. The old professor had been quite bothersome with his opinions though. He had wanted the raven head submissive in everything but his magic and his other training. It made for conflicting thoughts and emotions during the first few years in the old professor's service.

The thing which troubled him now with his new Master was that the Shinobi hadn't laid down any such law. There were no rules in how he should behave should his Master need him in any other way then his missions. It was why he had tried different ways to show that his Master could take out any such frustrations on him. But his Master refused his every offer and came down on his training much harder than before he asked. Maybe that was what his Master wanted of him.

Satisfied with the decision, the raven head nodded to himself and his Master's request. He would train and learn everything Danzou-sama wanted him to learn. He would throw himself onto his missions to satisfy his Master and be useful to the older man in every way he could.

"Good," Danzou-sama said and the child knew that he had made the right choice. "Your training will start right away. I have a sparring partner for you. Learn from him. We will see who is stronger in the end."

The hidden message was clear. If he wanted to win this fight, he would have to kill his opponent. Even if that opponent was also a member of ROOT. The raven head was fine with that. He had killed his comrades before anyway and he wasn't nearly as familiar with the other ROOT members as he had been with the students of the Castle. It would be a lot easier killing a fellow ROOT operative than it had ever been to kill one of the students in the castle.

Something suddenly broke through his determination of killing his opponent. Danzou-sama didn't often set him up against ROOT members and he had never been given the order to kill them before. So why now? Unless it was a test to see if he could show restrained to the members of the Foundation. But he had heard the rumours before from the other members. About the ultimate exam for those who proved worthy enough to become ROOT members. But wasn't he already a member of ROOT? He had been serving his Master for three, almost four, years now. He had been loyal to Danzou-sama from the start, what else could he be? He only existed to serve Danzou-sama.

When he arrived at the training bridge to meet with his opponent, the raven head had locked away the confusing thoughts. He needed his full concentration, learn from his opponent and, when given the signal, kill the other boy. The boy didn't look like anyone special. Dressed in bland clothing, the only thing which really showed any type of connection to a clan were his facial markings. A red triangle was in the middle of his forehead and his chakra was warm like a blazing fire, but also cold like a freezing mist.

His opponent narrowed his eyes slightly. "I have to fight against him? _Ch_, this will be easy."

The raven head remained silent, carefully annualizing his opponent. While he looked slender, strength was still present in his body. His stance, just about everything screamed experience. Whether it was simply hours and hours of training or preforming missions, this boy in front of him had experience in the ninja arts. But would he be experienced against someone who was trained in the art of magic?

An uncharacteristic glint appeared in his eyes and Danzou-sama raised an eyebrow, but the challenge was already making his heart beat a little faster. Adrenalin rushed through him, singing in his blood like a drug, while he prepared for what was about to come. He hadn't felt like this since his fight against Voldemort. That bastard had been hard to handle, seeing as the man had powered up after he was resurrected and had been several years his senior, but the raven head had loved every minute of the fight. And now, facing another strong opponent, he couldn't help but enjoy this feeling and grow stronger from it.

His magic started to crackle like lightning underneath his skin, mixing with his chakra to create a faint humming noise. The boy in front of him smirked slightly and drew his Kama. The blade shone brightly even if the metal was dark. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the weapon. While he had once fought with a sword, Danzou-sama had yet to train him in handling anything other than shuriken and kunai. It did him little good now though, for he had no weapons on hand.

He resisted the urge to lick his lips in anticipation and for the first time in his life he wanted to laugh out loud at the challenge. It was probably why he made the first move which was completely against everything he stood for. The move was flashy and pointless and so utterly unlike him or anything which ROOT stood for. He wasn't sure why he did it and the only thing it earned him was a pathetic slap against his flailing arms and wide kick. The Kama flashed in his direction, sheered past his nose in a wide arch and he saw how the other boy had to readjust his grip when the handle started to slip.

Something akin to disappointment made itself known and, using his speed and flexibility, he leaped over the boy's head, grabbing hold of his wrist which held the blade. He would have been able to swing his opponent in an arch through the air if the heath hadn't caused blisters to form on his hands. It was like trying to hold onto a flame and he knew that touching the other boy would be out of the question.

Jumping back to reassess, he crouched low on the platform, counting in his head. One; catch his opponent by surprise using his superior speed. Two; to defend himself the other boy would readjust to swing his Kama. Three; block with left arm before knocking the arm up and away. Four; the strength of that blow would leave him open, so blocking the incoming hit to the ribs was a must. Five…

It wasn't long until he grew bored with the fight. The older boy did possess a few powerful Jutsu but the seven-year-old had him quickly overwhelmed, using tricks and magic to gain an advantage and finish off the former clan boy. It wasn't as messy as it had been when he was still working for his former Master. The Headmaster never really cared for how much mess was created as long as he finished the job. Danzou-sama would be pleased to see that he hadn't even spilled a single drop of blood in the process.

When he turned to his Master he quickly kneeled when the lonely stone-cold eye bore down on him.

"It took you too long," Danzou-sama barked, his biting voice a much harder punishment than the cane digging into his shoulder. "I would have thought you would know better by now. No emotions, no name, no past, no future."

"I apologise Master," he muttered. "I will be faster next time."

Danzou-sama narrowed his eye at his kneeling figure for a while before lifting his cane. "See that you do." And with that he turned away.

…

There was a _thing_ with one of the older members of the Foundation. Kinoe. He hadn't been familiar with the older boy, observing the Wood Release user from a distance while the boy had trained. He had watched from the side lines when the one named Hatake Kakashi had come for Kinoe and the raven head had wondered why the ANBU had rushed to save a ROOT member. It was also the first time the now eight-year-old had spotted the current Hokage, someone who ruled the Village from the Light side of things.

"I trust that these things will never happen with you," Danzou-sama said lightly.

He had wanted to bristle with indignation, but refrained. He didn't need emotions after all. "I serve my Master."

The silence between them seemed to last an age. "And I trust that I am the only Master that you serve."

The raven head looked up at the older man. He wanted to hesitate but in the end acted like the rash child he was. He stripped off his clothing under the watchful eye of his Master before standing to attention, his back proud and his eyes straight forward. "I'm yours Master," he stated proudly. "Brand me if that satisfies you. Place the Curse Mark on me like you did all the others to make me one of your trusted own. Do what you must to take away any doubt you have. I have no existence without you Master. Give me a mission, a mark, a code name. Anything which will bind me closer to you!"

Danzou-sama stared down at his naked form for a while. "For one who prides himself on having no emotions, you seem awfully full of them." For a moment the older man appeared amused but it must have been a trick of the light because Danzou-sama was a master in closing off his emotions. The raven head remained standing tall. "Cover yourself up; there is a mission I need you to fulfil."

**TBC**


	3. Author Note

**Author note:**

Yes, this is one of those most dreaded author notes. When I started FF I always thought I was never going to be one of those people who leave their stories unfinished/discontinued/hiatus or whatever. But now it seems life has caught up with me and no matter how much I would love to continue writing, I just don't have the time anymore.

For anyone who wants an explanation:

It all started last year (2015). I was happy, life was good. I had a job that I loved, the shop was expanding so there was no way I was going to get the boot. I had returned from Japan a happy woman, planned and went to do a road trip through Wales and England and had money enough to plan another trip to Japan in 2016. I had a tentative 'boyfriend' that I told nobody about because I didn't want to curse it (I seem to have a bit of bad luck in steady relationships) and I went to an Anime convention.

It all fell apart from there…

I am at an age where you either spend the rest of your life as a lone wolf – never married, always travelling and living alone – or you have a family, settle down and worry about your kids. For obvious reasons I disregarded the second. After a massive failed relationship and a few hopeless flings after that, I decided I was better off alone. That was until I entered a 'relationship' with a guy who… well… at least he was an improvement on my ex-fiancé.

Long story short, in November I found out I was 20 weeks pregnant. I lost myself when I heard that I would lose my job and when I learned the guy I had loved had been keeping a relationship on the side and could not afford to have a child from a woman he didn't love.

Good news: my baby Harry was born a week and a half after my own birthday and at four months old demands a lot of attention and love which he receives in the form of myself and his grandparents, my sister and brother dote on him too. I can honestly say that I am a very happy woman.

About continuing/finishing my stories:

To channel Hermione "I'm really sorry about this…" and you know the rest.


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